Industrial Restructuring and Change in the Labour and Property Markets in Britain

Abstract

This paper seeks to identify the interrelationships between the labour and property markets and the role of regions and the local state in Britain in order to assess their effects upon the structure of opportunities. The labour market changes over the postwar period have resulted in labour shedding in the older heavy industries and in mining and quarrying, leading to changes both in the composition and in the location of the work force. During the same period there have been major changes in the tenure structure of housing with the growth of owner occupation. There is a strong relationship between the areas which have a buoyant labour market and those which have a high rate of house price increase. The implications of these changes in the labour and property markets are examined in relation to mobility and class structure.